


I Hear You Calling

by ReederJoe



Category: Phandom
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Phandom - Freeform, ddlb, littlespace, oneshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 07:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10552176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReederJoe/pseuds/ReederJoe
Summary: More adventures of Phil and Dan in his littlespace





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RiverKnox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverKnox/gifts).



> You could consider this a part two of When You Call My Name (it's all the same universe anyway)

           “Daddy…” Dan was mumbling in his sleep. It was actually a pretty common thing for him to do, especially during exam week. Phil rolled over in the bed to look him over- it was better to be safe than sorry, right? - and was surprised to find him curled into the tiniest ball he could manage with his lanky frame, thumb between his lips and a light blue pacifier on the pillow beside him. It must have fallen out during the night and he’d been too sleepy to realize.

            Phil reached out with one hand to smooth his hair back where it’d been drooping over his eyes and immediately jerked his palm back when it made contact with Dan’s skin. “Dan,” He whispered, but of course he didn’t budge. Phil patted his shoulder and said his name again, louder. After a few seconds, Dan began to stir, automatically reaching for the blankets that he’d pushed away at some point in the night. Phil let go of his arm and Dan looked up at him with glassy brown eyes. “You’ve got a fever, love,” Phil told him, and Dan shuddered in response.

His hands shot out to grab at Phil when he tried to move off the bed. “I’ll be right back,” Phil promised, and Dan stared at him briefly before nodding and lying back down. Phil padded down the hall to the kitchen, hoping they had something in the cupboards to break his fever.

            Dan was already back to sleep when Phil came back to their room, water in one hand and Tylenol in the other. Phil set them both down on the bedside table and took a seat beside him, nudging his shoulder in the process. His eyelids fluttered, but didn’t open all the way, and Phil reached for his paci because Phil knew he’d wake up if Dan thought he’d lost it.

            “It’s okay, baby,” Phil assured him, stroking his cheek softly. Dan watched him with wide eyes, seeming very confused. Phil was used to this behaviour by now, though. He went into a special kind of little space when he got sick, and he usually stayed that way until he got better. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

            He nodded slowly, and then made a face at the motion. “Show me where,” Phil prompted, because Dan wasn’t going to tell him without some kind of direction. He was still for a moment, and then he moved a hand to make a sweeping motion up and down his body. Phil’s heart broke at the sight- he hated when Dan felt so ill. “Sit up for me,” Phil instructed, taking the medicine from the table. “This will help.” He shuffled and scooted until he was upright, and Phil could see how much effort it took just to perform that simple task. He’d seen him at times when Dan felt bad and would just whimper every time he moved, but now Dan seemed to be too sapped of energy to make any sound at all. He took the pills with trembling fingers and Phil held the cup for him while he sipped at the water.

            “Good boy,” Phil praised him when he lay back down. He gave a tiny smile and Phil bent down to kiss his cheek. “Here,” Phil said softly, lifting the pacifier to his mouth. Dan took it happily and Phil reached down to pull the covers back over him. He stood up then, and made his way around the bed, and Dan kept a firm grip on his hand until Phil was settled in behind him and wrapping his arms around Dan’s waist. In the beginning, Phil had questioned his need for constant contact, but now he knew that when Dan was like this, his little mind was terrified that Phil would somehow disappear if he didn’t feel some part of him on his skin.

            “Go back to sleep,” Phil told him gently. He tapped his fingertips against Phil’s forearms- something he always did when he got sleepy- and wriggled around a bit until his back was pressed right up against Phil’s chest. Phil could feel the heat radiating off him, and he hoped Dan would feel at least some better when he woke up again later. “Daddy will be here when you wake up.”

 

X  X  X  X  X

 

            “Daddy?” Dan’s voice was soft- he didn’t want to wake Phil up but he was getting worried about the way his daddy was shaking so much. He reached over to tuck the blankets tighter around him- maybe daddy was just cold. After a moment of deliberation, Dan decided to just get up and go get more covers. It was when he shifted on the mattress to stand up that Phil’s eyes fluttered open and he rolled over with a groan.

            “Dan, baby,” he said, gritting his teeth against the pain that rolled through him as he moved, “are you okay?”

            “’m gonna get more blankies,” Dan told him, rising up to his feet. Phil reached an arm out, but then jerked back when a sudden blast of cold air hit his skin. “See? Too cold, daddy.” While Dan rifled through their wardrobe for another quilt, Phil pressed a palm to his forehead, wincing at the heat radiating off his own skin. Dan was back after a moment, tossing the quilt over Phil as best he could and crawling back into bed beside him. Phil started to move so he could wrap Dan up in his arms, but Dan stopped him.

            “I cuddle you,” he informed Phil, slipping his own arms around Phil and wriggling closer until he could press himself against Phil’s chest. “You needs it more.” This wasn’t the first time Dan had tried to be the one in charge so he could take care of Phil, but Phil would never get over the way Dan’s face went soft as he fell asleep with his cheek pressed to Phil’s chest. Phil felt pretty terrible, but at least he wasn’t feverish yet- he’d have to find some medicine at some point- and he managed to find a comfortable position as he curled up slightly and let the sound of Dan’s quiet breathing lull him back to sleep.

            “Good morning, daddy!” Dan’s voice was right at Phil’s ear as he blinked a couple times and lifted a hand to rub his eyes. He popped one eye open hesitantly and let out a groan. It was way too bright.

            “Dan,” Phil croaked out, and Dan was right there in front of his face, smiling widely. Phil couldn’t help but return the smile. “Could you turn the light off, please?”

            “Okay, daddy,” Dan sang as he scrambled off the bed and skipped across the room to flip the light switch, and then he was jumping back onto the mattress beside Phil.

            “Thank you, love,” Phil whispered, glancing over at Dan’s soft features in the dim glow of their bedside lamp. That light was okay, he thought. And he didn’t want total darkness, because it would scare Dan. Dan crawled across the blanket and snuggled up to Phil’s side, and he welcomed the warmth. Before he’d known Dan, he preferred to be left alone when he was sick. And most of the time, that was the case now, too- at least, when Dan wasn’t in little space. Days like today were completely different. Little Dan would try his very best to do everything he could think of to make his daddy feel better, and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

            After a while, though, the pressure in Phil’s head became too much, and he sat up, preparing to go get the medicine he probably should have gotten a lot sooner.

            “Where going?” Dan demanded immediately, sitting up as well and scooting to the edge of the bed.

            “I’m going to get some medicine, baby,” Phil told him, patting Dan’s knee. He stood up and Dan did, too. Dan placed a hand on Phil’s shoulder and gave a gentle shove. Phil took the hint and sat back down.

            “You stay,” Dan informed him in a very serious tone. Phil tried not to laugh because he knew how important this was to Dan’s little mind. “I can get it.” He turned to leave the room.

            “Do you remember what they look like?” Phil called after him, smiling despite the headache.

            “Long an’ white,” Dan replied, poking his head back through the door. “Kinda like you.” He skipped away cheerfully and Phil stared after him, unable to keep a straight face any longer.

 

X  X  X  X  X

 

            “Daddy, I can do it,” Dan insisted. Phil held a hand up in defeat and gave him the whisk. Dan grinned wildly and went to work stirring the egg and vanilla with the butter and sugar that Phil had already prepared, giggling every time a bit of the mixture sloshed out the side. Phil let it go on for a few minutes, and then he reached out to take the bowl back.

            “Good job, baby,” Phil praised, and Dan beamed from ear to ear. The bowl was set on the counter, and Phil sifted the flour while Dan tossed in little pinches of salt. After the third time, Phil put his hand over Dan’s and said, “Okay, that’s good.”

            “Time for chips?” Dan asked with wide eyes, looking right at the bag of chocolate chips lying on the table. His hands were already reaching, and Phil nodded in assent with a smile on his face. There was nothing he loved more than these days where Dan could be little without being pressured into it by stress or fear. There had been absolutely nothing bothering either of them all week, so when Phil had woken up to the sound of Dan giggling over Winnie-the Pooh, he’d know it was going to be a good day.

            “Alright,” Phil said once the mix was complete. “We’re going to make balls.” He’d made so many things with Dan over the past few years, but the need for explanation never failed. No matter how many times they made chocolate chip cookies together, he’d always had to tell Dan what to do. Honestly, it just helped the immersion that Dan was too little to take care of himself, which Dan loved to be reminded of no matter what headspace he was in.

            “Like this?” Dan questioned, gesturing to the little spheres he’d crafted so far. Phil clapped his hands lightly, grinning at the sight of the flawless little balls spaced perfectly apart. That was one thing that never changed.

            “That’s perfect, bear,” Phil assured him, and Dan’s cheek flushed, revealing a rosy patch just above his dimple (just the one- it was one of Phil’s favourite things about Dan). They quickly filled the rest of the tray and then Phil took the baking sheet in his hands. “It’ll be about ten minutes,” he told Dan as he slid it onto the rack in the oven. He stood back up to face Dan and asked, “What should we do while we wait?”

            Dan tapped his chin, pretending to think about it. After a few seconds, he smiled and stepped closer, enough so that he could press his lips to Phil’s and Phil took that as a hint as Dan held onto his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around Dan and held him close, and before Phil could stop them, they’d slid down to the floor in front of the oven. Dan straddled Phil’s hips, facing away from the oven window, and Phil let his palms rest on Dan’s hips. Dan giggled at the contact and Phil laughed, knowing those were ticklish spots for him.

            “We fell,” Dan observed after a moment, which caused Phil to laugh again.

            “We had too much fun,” Phil told him, and Dan shook his head.

            “No fun until cookies,” Dan decided, but he leaned in again as he said the words, so Phil didn’t take too much offense. He let his hands wander, rubbing little circles into Dan’s back as they kissed, and eventually Dan smiled wide enough to break them up.

            Their lips were inches apart as Phil murmured, “Is this fun, too?”

            And Dan watched him fervently, chocolate eyes twinkling, as he replied, “The most fun I ever had.”

            Phil would’ve had something to say to that, but right after he spoke, the timer _ding_ ed, and Dan jumped up with an excited squeal. Phil gave a happy sigh and stood up to join his baby. He knew he was no competition for baked goods.

 

X  X  X  X  X

 

            “310 from Reading.” The voice on the loudspeaker crackled to life every few minutes, announcing arrivals and departures. Phil had been half-listening for the past hour, but now his ears pricked up on hearing the name of the town Dan had traveled from. Not even one minute after the announcement, his phone was buzzing in his pocket.

            _i’ve arrived. will be out soon._

Phil stared at the text for a good thirty seconds before moving to the area where people were waiting for their parties. He still couldn’t quite believe he was about to see Dan in the flesh- no computer screens separating them. He’d already planned out their entire weekend, starting with the world’s greatest hug.

            It was almost too easy to spot Dan when he arrived at the double doors. Standing half a foot taller than almost everyone else, he stood at the station entrance with one hand on his head. Their smiles grew when Dan caught sight of him, equally tall in the crowd of strangers. Dan made his way through the terminal and half-ran across the lobby to Phil’s outstretched arms.

            “Oh my god,” he said, voice muffled slightly by the fabric of Phil’s shirt. He buried his face in Phil’s neck and Phil let out a chuckle at the tickle of Dan’s fringe on his cheek. They stood there, in the middle of the station lobby, for what seemed like hours. Eventually, Phil parted his lips to suggest moving out of the way, but when he pulled away to look at Dan, Dan moved with him, and Phil realized that Dan was clinging to him. Phil knew almost immediately what was about to happen.

            “Do you have other bags?” Phil asked, hoping to distract him. Dan shook his head against Phil’s shoulder, and Phil could feel the boy growing more pliant in his arms. “Good. Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

            “’kay,” Dan agreed, but he made no move to release Phil. After a moment of silence, Phil gently pulled himself away, holding Dan at arm’s length, and took Dan’s hand in his to lead him toward the door. The pavement outside was practically empty, and Phil could see Dan’s free hand inching up toward his mouth every so often, but he’d catch himself and lower it back down. His eyes were wide as his little mind took in everything around them. He'd never been here anyway, and seeing for the first time in this head-space was exhilarating, but it was also intense.

            Dan could feel the weight of it on his mind and wanted nothing more than to cuddle up to Phil with Winnie and- _wait_.

            “Dan?” Phil watched as Dan suddenly stopped and yanked his bag from his shoulders. They were stood at the crosswalk, waiting for a taxi. Dan dropped to his knees and began digging through his backpack and let out a sigh of relief when he produced a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear. Phil could guess what had brought this on.

            “I thought I left him,” Dan told Phil, rising back up and hugging Winnie to his chest. Phil bent down to take Dan’s bag so he could hold on to the bear. Before either of them could say anything else, their ride pulled up in front of them. Phil helped Dan in first, ignoring the looks they were getting from the driver, and once they were settled in the seat, Dan leaned over to rest his head on Phil’s shoulder. Phil wrapped an arm around Dan’s waist and Dan sighed softly. “Thank you daddy.”

            Phil smiled.

           


End file.
